Page 66 of Cruel Steps

“Then don’t be so delicious, Wildcat.”

Smiling at him, I tentatively ran my fingers through his hair. I loved this small moment where we didn’t seem to hate each other. Feeling brave, I continued my perusal of his naked body. My fingertips ran over his golden skin, devouring every inch he offered up to me. Reverently, I traced the words on his ribs and said the words out loud. “When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge.”

I looked up, searching his eyes for an answer to a question I didn’t know. My phone vibrated, and I groaned at the reminder that the rest of the world still existed.

“Ignore it.”

“I can’t. I bet it’s your best friend. I didn’t text him when I got home last night, so he’s probably worried.” I reached over and grabbed my phone, and sure enough, there were several messages from Colter. “Yep.”

I turned it toward him, flashing the texts. Holden moved up the bed and pulled me into his arms, resting me against his chest. “Give it to me.”

Handing him my phone, I pursed my lips and wondered if he would read them. I didn’t have anything to hide, but if he couldn’t trust me, I wouldn’t be able to keep doing whatever we were doing.

“Smile, Wildcat.”

“Huh?” I looked up and realized he had the camera on us. It showed us in bed, our hair disheveled and our upper halves bare. I smiled at the camera, expecting Holden to do the same, but he stared at me instead.

“You look like you want to fuck me.”

“Good.” He pulled the phone away and typed something. It took me too long to realize what he did.

“You did not just send him a sex picture!” I bolted up and grabbed my phone back. Holden didn’t fight me, and I realized why. He’d already sent the image to Colter and a new contact. My anxiety morphed from Colter hating me to why he’d sent it to this new number. Had this all been a ploy? Had Hope put him up to this? I couldn’t believe I fell for it so easily.

“I didn’t consent to you sending pictures of me to strangers.” My words were harsh, and I shook for an entirely different reason this time. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if Hope was behind this, but a part of me wanted to stay in the dark as long as possible.

“Relax.” Holden sat up, stroking my face. I narrowed my eyes.

“When in the history of ever has it worked when a man has told a woman to relax?”

Holden chuckled, infuriating me more. “It’s my number, Wildcat.”

“Oh.” My mouth formed an ‘o’, and I stared at him, dumbfounded. My cheeks became hot, and everything inside me felt warm. My phone buzzed in my hand, and I jerked in response, the vibrations surprising me. Colter’s name flashed, and I remembered Holden had just sent him a picture of the two of us in a compromising position. Taking a deep breath, I opened the messages, blinking when I saw what he’d put.

Magic 8-Ball: Damn, Mer. You look gorgeous. Tell Holden he can’t hog you.

Magic 8-Ball: And all is fair in love and football. I get you tonight.

Magic 8-Ball: I’m looking forward to hearing all about your night on our date.

“He’s okay with it,” I mumbled, confused. A mix of emotions from slightly turned on to relief swirled within me. Holden smirked, pulled me back to his chest, read the messages, and laughed.

“Sucks to be him, then,” Holden said, tossing my phone down on the bed and kissing me. All the questions I had fled my mind as Holden’s erection dug into me. “Do you have condoms in here, Wildcat?” he asked, licking down my neck.

“Top drawer.” I reached behind me, but my arms weren’t long enough. Holden chuckled and opened the drawer, rustling inside for what he needed and knocking my stuff sitting on top. “How is you doing it any better? I could’ve made that mess,” I teased, but my smile fell when he pulled out my hot pink vibrator.

He lifted his eyebrows. “This what you used that morning when you lied about listening to me?”

Biting my lip, I nodded. Holden’s eyes smoldered, turning darker as he sat on his haunches. He didn’t take his eyes off me while he opened the condom and rolled it on. Instead of spearing me like I expected, he fell back on his butt and scooted up to the headboard. Pilling pillows behind him, he rested on them and gestured for me.

“Ride me, Em.” The shortened name caused my heart to skip, and I nodded, crawling to him. He directed me to squat, keeping my feet flat on the bed. He held my hands while I lined myself up and lowered onto him. We both moaned as he filled me, his cock feeling thicker at this angle.

“Goddamn, Wildcat. You just keep getting better.”

Using my thighs, I lifted myself up while he played with my tits, sucking them into his mouth and flicking the stiff peaks. My hands ran over his chest, loving the feel of his muscles beneath me. I swear his abs were otherworldly, and his Adonis Belt were things angels wept over. The man was cut and looked at me like he’d never seen anyone more beautiful. It was a heady and addicting thing, and why I couldn’t let him go, no matter how much my head told me to.

We didn’t have a future. Hope would never stand for it. Neither would our parents.

All we could have were these stolen moments in secret.

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